Mohammed launches programme to integrate innovation in UAE curricula

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday launched a national programme to integrate innovation and entrepreneurship into the curricula of both public and private higher education institutions in the UAE.
The new programme has been developed in collaboration with Stanford University.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, attended the event held to launch the new initiative.
The initiative aims to develop higher education programmes to help meet the country’s human resource requirements and produce the specialised talent needed for the next phase of the UAE’s development.
At the launch event organised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said, "Our objective is to prepare the new generation for the future, for a new world that requires different skills."
Sheikh Mohammed added, "Developing the right educational curricula and tools will support the UAE in maintaining its global competitiveness over the next decade. The coming generations will be required to develop the skills of innovation, analysis and entrepreneurship to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology. Public education is our next target for change."
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, said that the leadership’s directives to develop the education sector, in particular higher education, reflects the UAE’s efforts to prepare the new generation for meeting the challenges created by rapid changes."
Sheikh Hamdan said that the new innovation and entrepreneurship curricula represent a crucial step towards achieving the objectives of the National Innovation Strategy and UAE Vision 2021. He said UAE universities would start teaching these curricula from January 2016.

Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Committee Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Director General of Dubai Protocol Department Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman and Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office Ohood Al Roumi attended the launch event.

The launch of the national programme to integrate innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education curricula is aligned with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to mark 2015 as the year of innovation. The programme also responds to the call of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to implement the National Innovation Strategy and embed the principles of innovation and entrepreneurship in UAE culture.

The scope of the new programme includes the development of innovation and entrepreneurship curricula, the training of university faculty to teach these curricula, workshops to raise awareness among teachers and university professors about the programme, symposiums and visits to Stanford University and Silicon Valley. The programme will also facilitate direct interactions between UAE university professors and Stanford University experts.

 

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